[Video] Maddow on Maine vote disaster: "We're left to wonder if this was rigged"

[sailingaway]

Well, the Washington county results now aren't likely to be typical, and it isn't just in OUR direction. The campaign has moved on and it is up to the grass roots to get it out, without the campaign's lists and things I would assume. Two colleges which were in session a week ago will be out of session, and that has to hurt us.

But on the other side, the GOP there, whether or not they WERE 'rigging' it a few votes here and a few votes there, will be calling all party types to vote for Romney just to save the party embarrassment. Also Romney is VERY good at 'busing people in' while keeping his operation under the surface. Best case for him is to 'win it anyhow', obviously. And the GOP has the lists and contacts, I should think some would come out 'for the emergency' who might not really care to spend the time to vote for Romney otherwise.

Oh, well.

 

[Edward]

We know why Ms. Maddow is, but what about CNN or FOX? That is why I turned the TV off.

Most mainstream sources have touched on this, including CNN, but it should come as no surprise that Fox hasn't.

 

[sailingaway]

Every report I have seen from Rachel regarding Paul has been fair. There are a number of people on here who don't like her. The fact that she is gay I think she understands Paul's position on gay marriage as a state issue.

I couldn't care less about her being gay. At some point she was invited to the white house and became a cheerleader for Obama that lasted right up to NDAA, and even still echoes. I used to think she was really trying to find the facts, now I definitely think partisanship comes into play. However, she does what she does well, and she is smart.

 

[sailingaway]

This was a solid report! She's a pro.

Is that guy right that Ron did badly in Washington county in '08? I thought it was the opposite!

If I'm remembering he won the county but they were saying only by 8 votes or something, but that was in 2008 when he got 10% not now when he brings in new voters and gets 36%. Whatever, this weekend's vote is going to be skewed on all sides. The colleges are now out of session there that were in session last week, our grass roots are trying to make up for that, the party has its reputation on the line to make sure the 'result' doesn't change, and Romney wants a better ending to this narrative, BIG time.....

 

[Captain Shays]

You really shouldn't--she is still part of the sewer stream news. The only reason she is pinch-hitting for the home team is because her script tells her so! They are fighting to get Obama to sit at the head of the table for four more years--nothing more.

There is not one bit of difference between the parties--it's all an illusion.

Romney will be the GOP's fall guy, just like McCain was. The GOP will do anything to keep Dr. Paul out, another reason why Gingrich and Santorum are still in the race--it's to dilute the rigged system and keep the appearance that there it isn't rigged.

Donnay I tend to agree with you

 

[WD-NY]

The campaign staff in Maine isn't even helping? Really? I mean, even if the core campaign wants to seem as hands off as possible towards Sat's vote, couldn't the staff still in Maine be going 110% on this?

 

[sailingaway]

The campaign staff in Maine isn't even helping? Really? I mean, even if the core campaign wants to seem as hands off as possible towards Sat's vote, couldn't the staff still in Maine be going 110% on this?

I'm not aware that there is staff in Maine. I think they just flew in for the caucuses. I could be wrong. But with superTuesday coming up and fundraising not at its best, I suspect they are in Washington, Idaho, ND, etc.

 

[goldpants]

With $1T on the line(per year, just on the federal level), you don't think they have a lot on the line to do everything possible to save it?

I recognize that fact. But what does a GOP Chairman Webster get for rigging a vote or some county official or precinct worker? Are their cash handouts or freebies like country club dues or govt. contracts or so on? Or do these clowns do this fraud under a sense of patriotism and doing what is best for all?

 

[sailingaway]

I recognize that fact. But what does a GOP Chairman Webster get for rigging a vote or some county official or precinct worker? Are their cash handouts or freebies like country club dues or govt. contracts or so on? Or do these clowns do this fraud under a sense of patriotism and doing what is best for all?

I am not commenting on what actually happened, but before the Maine caucuses I saw write ups saying Romney was expected to win, in part because he was the 'go to guy' over the last four years for Party fundraisers, and would fly in for those and to support and donate to candidates. It has to have some impact on who the party establishment thinks is 'their guy', doesn't it?

 

[jct74]

on Raw Story:

Maddow wonders whether Maine GOP ‘rigged’ caucuses

By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, February 16, 2012 8:57 EST

In a segment Wednesday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow explored the murky waters currently occupied by the Maine GOP, which she suggested may have actually “rigged” the recent caucuses in favor of Mitt Romney.

“Hey, beltway media: over here!” she said. “This is not a Ron Paul conspiracy theory. I neither want to end the Fed nor discuss the arcane and hypothetical math of delegate allocation. The Ron Paul candidacy is not what this story is about. I don’t think it’s any particular candidate. But I think Republicans in the state of Maine may end up having to withdraw their declaration that Mitt Romney won the state of Maine, the same way that Republicans had to do in Iowa just last month.”

After a lengthy explanation, she concluded: “The rest of us are left to look at this disaster the Maine Republican Party has pulled off, and we’re left to wonder if this was rigged, if this was just a fiasco, and we’re left to wonder how long they will wait before they actually sort this out.”

This video was broadcast by MSNBC on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2012.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/16/maddow-speculates-whether-maine-gop-rigged-caucuses/

 

[The Free Hornet]

I recognize that fact. But what does a GOP Chairman Webster get for rigging a vote or some county official or precinct worker? Are their cash handouts or freebies like country club dues or govt. contracts or so on? Or do these clowns do this fraud under a sense of patriotism and doing what is best for all?

I wonder about this too at times. Then I think about how many people are tied to the government as mayors, sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, police, fire, teachers, municipal workers, dozens of federal agencies, and oodles of other positions both government and contracted to private parties.

A judgeship may seem like nothing, unless you are that judge. These people gravitate towards power because that is what puts food on their table. So while running voting precincts and getting chairmanships are all meaningless platitudes to normal, well-balanced people in the private sector, for them, this is their college diploma. It is their ticket.

The country won't change unless the philosophy of the country changes. What Ron Paul brings to the game is a virus that scares the living hell out of so many more than just the power elite. This is the motivation behind the riggings, the unelectable charges, and the journalistic malpractice.

Thankfully, this is not a personality cult, and it really is about freedom.

 

[affa]

I recognize that fact. But what does a GOP Chairman Webster get for rigging a vote or some county official or precinct worker? Are their cash handouts or freebies like country club dues or govt. contracts or so on? Or do these clowns do this fraud under a sense of patriotism and doing what is best for all?

The best way to enact control is to do so with a gentle hand. You generally don't need to script propaganda, you simply put people with known political agendas in specific positions of power. So, for example, the editor of a paper will then naturally squash certain stories, and push others, while subordinates will over time fall into line since they know what stories their boss(es) want to see.

Likewise, these people then are the ones who select who represents the 'left' and 'right' in any given 'panel of experts'... as well as what opinions get completely omitted. It ends up being a semi-transparent hand that guides. This alleviates the need for direct control of the message, and gives the false appearance of a free press.

Occasionally, the hand becomes more visible - for example, a story might get squashed from 'on high', but in general, those stories never get legs in the first place. And when this happens, it either never gets out, or is lost to the memory hole.

Applying that to this situation, you'll see the same thing. First, we all know political bribes and corruption exist, but you also have people that have a certain biased way of looking at things in positions of power. How often do we hear language like 'the Ron Paul supporters hijacked' something, when in fact, we are the electorate? But when those in power mistakenly view it as 'enemies hijacking' something, they're more likely to try to do something shady they consider, as you call it, patriotic.

In a situation such as that, you don't need to necessarily tell people to do something wrong. You simply create a situation in which it's easy to commit wrongdoing. For example: order people not to reveal vote counts. The more 'secret' the results are, the easier it is for someone, without any direct instruction needed, to corrupt the results. Direct intervention can be left to things that are shady, but easily defensible, such as cancelling a caucus based on assumed weather conditions. Other, more obvious examples of that happen all the time, in the form of redistricting - not illegal, but clearly done to massage results with plausible deniability.

So? Do I think that in some cases, money and or power changes hands? Absolutely. In fact, corruption in politics is embedded deep in the fabric of American history. But a lot of it also happens organically.

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

Not a doubt in my mind the Good Dr won ME...whats done in the dark will be brought to the light...their actions highlight their fear and I revel in their cowardice.

 

[jmdrake]

What the hell? Okay. Next time somebody says "There are no conspiracies" please point them to the videos in the OP. We are living in the twilight zone.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

14% of the Maine state Caucus has NOT been counted

 

[jmdrake]

I couldn't care less about her being gay. At some point she was invited to the white house and became a cheerleader for Obama that lasted right up to NDAA, and even still echoes. I used to think she was really trying to find the facts, now I definitely think partisanship comes into play. However, she does what she does well, and she is smart.

She has an on again / off again relationship with Obama. She slammed Obama early on over indefinite detention, but came roaring back to defend him after he was attacked for getting a peace prize that he clearly does not deserve. She can't be stupid enough to think that indefinite detention = peace prize candidate.

As for why people here dislike her, it's because of how she bushwhacked Rand Paul over the civil right act right after he won the KY GOP senate nomination. She had been nice to both Pauls up to that point. And yes "bushwhacked" is the right term. She knew (or should have known) that Ron had questioned the 1964 CRA long before Rand and she never brought it up to him.

 

[JacobG18]

Maddow: Proof Ron Paul Was Robbed In Maine.